plans. Other legal uses of national forest in
clude mining, grazing, and hunting. One may
apply for a permit to build a ski lodge or sum
mer cabin, or ride a "tote goat"-a cross
country motorcycle.
The official "wilderness" status therefore
closes Glacier Peak to most of these pursuits.
Campers may not enter it with any sort of
motor-driven vehicle, nor may an aircraft
land within its boundaries.
Ray Courtney tells me that as a youth he
used to wander the area for days without
ever seeing another human being. But after
World War II, hikers, mountaineers, and other
outdoorsmen "discovered" it in increasing
numbers. Now it is a favorite haunt of con
servationist organizations, many of which
favor its becoming part of the national park.
A year and a half ago, a threat to the area
became known. It was learned that Kennecott
Copper Corporation was studying the feasi
bility of mining copper on lands it owns near
Glacier Peak itself, third in height after Rai
nier and Baker in the North Cascades. To
reach its property, the company must cross
wilderness sections of national forest. Access
can be granted, however, under provisions
of the Wilderness Act.
Relatively shallow deposits would dictate
open-pit mining, which calls for removal of
vegetation and topsoil to reach the ore. The
operation would require roads, housing, and
perhaps some processing plants nearby.
It is not fair, of course, to view the corpora
tion as an ogre bent upon destruction of wil
derness. It is operating within existing laws
His "sled" a plastic bag, a young
ster streaks down a steep snow
packed slope in Cascade Pass.
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